Jbaxter82

Shared posts

Everyone suspects that buttons on pedestrian crossings, elevators, train doors, etc., do nothing. They are right. The BBC's Chris Baraniuk reports on the buttons that lie—and the power of the illusion of control.

A brain surgeon was operating on a 26-year-old woman to remove what he thought was a brain tumor when he found an extremely rare circumstance: an embryonic twin, or "teratoma," lodged in her brain. The teratoma, complete with hair, teeth and bone, was the mysterious ailment causing Yamini Karanam trouble with reading- and general comprehension.

Karanam was working on a PhD at Indiana University when she noticed the comprehension problems. Frustrated by two doctors whose advice contradicted each other, she found her Los Angeles surgeon, Dr. Hrayr Shahinian, through independent research. Shahinian described his minimally invasive procedure to NBC Los Angeles,

"Unlike traditional brain surgery where you open the skull and use metal retractors and you bring a microscope to see in the depths of the brain, what we're doing is keyhole surgery."

The doctor conducts the surgery using fiber-optic technology with digital imagery. A small incision is made into the brain and an endoscope is inserted, which carefully scrapes away at the tumor.

Read more and see a video on this rare medical find, which Karanam jokingly calls her "evil twin," at NBC Los Angeles.

This beautiful and novel bridge design by Knight Architects and engineers at AKT III is designed to unfold across the water like a fan. It's their concept for a bridge over a canal in London.

The bridge would consist of five steel beams with hydraulic jacks and counterweights that form a walkway. LED lights illuminate the structure, providing an architectural spectacle during both night and day. You can view more images of it at Design Boom.

It was probably about an hour into LCD Soundsystem’s epic, nearly four-hour final show at Madison Square Garden that it occurred to me: If this were ever released as a live album, it could be the greatest of my generation. It was our Live At Leeds, our Last Waltz, our Stop Making Sense. It was a chance for thousands to say, “I was there,” the last time anyone might ever hear James Murphy shout, “I was there.” It had everything: the perfect opener in “Dance Yourself Clean,” Arcade Fire singing on “North American Scum,” a full performance of “45:33″ with Reggie Watts, horns, string, and a choir, all leading up to the closing finality of “New York I Love You…” as thousands of white balloons rained down. Three years later I still have one of those balloons, now deflated, sitting on my bedside table. So finally this Record Store Day the legendary concert, the one that sold out Madison Square Garden in about five minutes, will be available in a completely uncut and long-overdue physical release. Produced and mixed by James Murphy, The Long Goodbye: LCD Soundsystem Live At Madison Square Garden will be out that day in a special vinyl box set, followed by a wide release on other formats. You can now watch a clip of them performing “Losing My Edge” below and check out the 38-song tracklist.

Sun January 26, 2014Emily and Melissa Elsen of Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Shop are making room in their kitchen for Midwestern chef Amy Thielen, who’ll be serving up a classic heartland, hot-beef sandwich this Sunday. Photo: Four & Twenty Blackbirds
Head over to Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Shop on Sunday for a slice of blackbottom oatmeal pie and a hot-beef sandwich, compliments of Amy Thielen, author of The New Midwestern Table. The Minnesota native will be making one of the classic, heartland recipes from her cookbook–a roast beef sandwich on homemade potato bread with a scoop of mashed potatoes and gravy on top. Thielan tops hers off with horseradish pesto for an extra kick, and each sandwich is being served with a free 3 oz. beer chaser, commonly known as a snit where Thielen comes from, of Kelso Nut Brown Lager. The open-faced sandwiches are $13.50 and slices of pie are $5.25, but… Read More

Back in 2009, when Paul Rudd and Jason Segel were promoting "I Love You Man," they gave a highlariously random interview to Rotten Tomatoes. Over the seven-minute interview, which is really more of an improv routine, Segel invents an imaginary friend named Gideon who "rides a unicorn" and "visits you in your dreams."

It's been way too long since we've heard an obscure Kinks song in a movie—but thankfully, director Wes Anderson is back to (hopefully) fill that hole in our life. Below, you can see the trailer for his latest film, The Grand Budapest Hotel. It looks much more comical and slapstick than his emotional recent works, the trailer picking up the rhythm of the frantic lightning sequence from Moonrise Kingdom. And there are lots of mustaches! [ more › ]